It is well known to those skilled in the art that honey bees utilize large amounts of pollen which is their source of protein food. It is further understood that pollen can be collected from honey bees by means of pollen traps which are attached to hives.
During periods of a shortage of pollen in the field, honey bees reduce the production of new bees and the population in hives decreases. It is at these times of stress that trapped pollen or some mixture of pollen, or some substitute (soybean meal, cottonseed meal, peanut meal, or yeast) is fed in place of pollen.
Prior to this invention pollen traps of various design were in use, but they had only a pollen grid consisting of a single piece of hardware cloth or a piece folded back onto itself. Since there was no trash grid, the pollen was contaminated with large amounts of trash. The lids were nailed onto the hives making it necessary to tear them off if the grids were to be cleaned. Dead bees accumulated in a pile between the hive entrance and the pollen grid creating a stench and a great reduction in ventilation. Prior art also required a beekeeper to remove the pollen trap before the hive could be manipulated. Prior art also caused the bees to become agitated increasing stinging because the traps were attached to the front of the hive with the removal of the pollen drawers from the front where bees often hang in large clusters because of the poor ventilation through the traps. The individual removing the pollen from the pollen drawer had to drop or wipe off the clustered bees and also interrupted the flight of bees coming into or leaving the hive since he had to stand in front of the hive. Prior art placed at the bottom of the hive had all the trash and dead bees from inside the colony falling into the pollen drawer contaminating the pollen.
Also prior to this invention, pollen was trapped with large amounts of trash (wax particles, bee body parts, and other bits of material) in the pollen. Pollen with excessive amounts of trash often is not eaten by bees and becomes a loss of effort, time, and cash. Pollen with trash contaminated with a bee disease infected healthy colonies that were fed trapped pollen.
During recent years, pollen has been collected for human consumption and prepared in the form of cakes, cookies, and candy. Because of the need for meeting certain health standards, it is essential that the pollen is as free of foreign material as possible. With the present worldwide population explosion, some other sources of protein will have to be developed, and pollen could be one of them.
A third object of this invention is to reduce the amount of labor needed to operate a colony of bees when the pollen trap is attached to the hive.
A fourth object is to reduce the amount of irritation to a colony of bees and thereby reduce stinging when pollen is being collected from the trap.
A fifth object is to enable rapid changeover from trapping pollen from a hive to not trapping it.
A sixth object is to provide a means for easy removal of dead bees and trash from the trap without taking the trap off the hive. This does away with the unfavorable odor of decaying dead bees.
These and other object and advantages of this invention will be shown from the following drawings, specifications, and claims set forth herein.